DETROIT – U.S. District Judge Victoria Roberts has ordered President Donald Trump's administration to temporarily halt the enforcement of its recently announced immigration restrictions, specifically restrictions against lawful permanent residents.
Trump's executive order, which he signed Friday, Jan. 27, affects citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries: Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. They are temporarily banned from immigrating to the United States.
The ban also affects travel to and from the United States of lawful permanent residents and other non-citizens from the seven designated countries.
READ: What immigrants need to know about Trump's order
Judge's order:
The judge ordered Friday that the United States is "permanently enjoined from applying Sections 3(c) and 3(e) of the January 27, 2017 Executive Order against lawful permanent residents of the United States. "
The court order means if a person has a legal green card he or she should be admitted to the United States, no matter what country in which the person is a citizen.
The order does recognize a White House memorandum issued on Feb. 1 which clarifies that the executive order does not apply to lawful permanent residents of the United States. From the court filing:
Upon the filing of the motion for temporary restraining order, the Court held a telephone conference. Attending were Nabih Ayad, Kassem Dakhlallah, and Ali Hammoud for Plaintiffs, and Gisela Westwater, Briana Yuh, and Adrian Pander for Defendants. During the call, counsel for Defendants pointed out that the White House issued a memorandum on February 1, 2017, which clarifies that the Executive Order does not apply to lawful permanent resident of the United States. After the hearing, Defendants filed the memorandum setting forth the clarification.
READ: Michigan governor: Trump's immigration order leads to much-needed dialogue
The order was issued on behalf of the Arab-American Civil Rights League, who filed a lawsuit earlier this week alleging Trump's order is unconstitutional because it bans Muslims and Arabs from Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States. The ACRL said it strongly opposes the ban as it is designed to target immigrant communities and are disgracefully timed during an urgent humanitarian crisis.
Roberts scheduled a hearing for Feb. 13 to consider whether to enjoing the U.S. from applying the order against two of the plaintiffs -- a Syrain national who was issued a visa Jan. 22, and a 9-year-old from Yemen who is the son of a U.S. citizen but was denied a visa -- and those similarly situated.
Los Angeles judge issues similar order
Earlier this week, a federal judge in Los Angeles ruled President Trump's administration must allow immigrants with initial clearance for legal residency to enter the United States from the seven nations, despite the executive order ban.
VIEW: Judge's order
VIEW: Government response
VIEW: Scheduling of hearing